Can I ask why the name ’Godzilla’ was adapted in english instead of ’Gojira’?
On the help page, "Translation and non-english languages" are marked as out of scope for this site. However "Etymology" is listed as an ok question.
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'Why' is a difficult question to answer. Can you turn it around to a 'how' or 'what happened?– MitchFeb 18, 2014 at 15:40
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1Ok, how come Godzilla was adopted instead of the original name Gojira?– bolovFeb 18, 2014 at 16:51
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1'How come' = 'why'.– MitchFeb 18, 2014 at 16:52
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1 Answer
The question 'Why was this name chosen?' is plainly off-topic; the only person who knows for certain is the translator, and even his response is less to do with the English language than what he thought the Japanese name meant. 'What is the meaning and etymology of the name Godzilla?' I would think to be on-topic, but before you ask it, consider what answer you would accept. A list of associations in common usage? A quotation from the scriptwriter? A full explanation of what 'Godzilla' actually means in English? The first is possible, though 'list' questions are discouraged: the second is not an ELU question at all (try Science Fiction and Fantasy.SE): the third is purely circular, since the only meaning 'Godzilla' has comes from the films.
answered Feb 18, 2014 at 18:30
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I must beg to differ. To me, at least, "Godzilla" is the name of the third 1Tb-plus hard drive attached to my home network. The first one was "Gorilla" because my previous largest drive was called "Tarzan", and the next one was dubbed "Goliath" (when I have the funds, and need more capacity, I might go for "Gargantua" - but that'll be a while yet, since Godzilla is 3Tb! :) Feb 21, 2014 at 19:55